Fate
by Swallow B
Summary: A different answer to the question : if Snape was given a second chance, what could he change ?
1. Chapter 1

Fate

Disclaimer : The characters and basic plot belong to JK Rowling. I just cast a Patronus and this is what happened.

Chapter One

"What's that, Severus ?" asked Lily.

She had picked up a shining object from the ground. It was a long gold chain on which a tiny hour-glass was dangling.

She pulled it around her neck.

"Someone's lost it. I'm going to keep it safe until I get it to Professor McGonagall."

"No, Lily ! Don't ! It's a..."

Severus tugged at the chain. Startled, Lily tugged back.

"You're strangling me !"

The small hour-glass had begun to whirl.

"Stop it !"

They grasped it together.

"Take it off," said Severus nervously. "I'll hold it so it doesn't move."

" Why ? Is is dangerous ?"

" Take it off. I'll tell you afterwards."

Lily pulled the chain off her neck as if it were about to explode. Severus carefully stored it away in his robes and looked around him at the sun-lit grounds.

"I'm not sure it's done anything," he muttered.

"What does it do ?" asked Lily in alarm.

"It's a Time-Turner. Really a dangerous thing to lose. It's used for time-travelling."

"Time-travelling ?" Lily opened wide eyes.

"It could have brought us back in time... or off into the future."

Lily looked around.

"Nothing seems changed."

"We might be lucky then. Maybe it doesn't work. We've got to find out, though. Come inside."

He took her hand and led her into the castle. Inside too all seemed unchanged. Instinctively, Severus led Lily to the dungeons. They walked over to the Slytherin common room. Severus spoke the password, not caring about the fact that his Gryffindor friend could hear it.

"Parselmouth."

The wall remained closed.

"Parselmouth," repeated Severus.

Nothing happened.

"The password has changed," he muttered in a worried voice.

"What shall we do ?"

"What are you doing ?"

A large boy walked up to them.

"Off you go, Gryffindor !" he barked at Lily.

Lily started and her eyes filled with tears.

"Don't talk to her like that !" said Severus.

"Why did you bring her here ? She's not supposed to hear the password."

" She hasn't. What is the password anyway ?"

The big boy looked at Severus suspicously.

"You are a Slytherin, aren't you ? I can't remember seeing you before."

" Of course I'm a Slytherin. Tell me, what is the date today ?"

" The date ? October 21st. Why ?"

Severus didn't dare ask, "What year ?".

"Remind me your name."

Severus had an inkling that this was not such a good idea.

"Listen, we need to see a teacher, all right ?"

"Well, go to Professor Snape."

Lily and Severus gaped.

"What's wrong with you two ? Come on !"

The boy pushed them towards the door of Professor Slughorn's office. Severus squeezed Lily's hand while trying to think hard : Professor Snape ?

The boy knocked.

"Enter," said a cold, somewhat familiar voice.

The boy pushed the door and ushered the children inside.

Severus and Lily gaped again.

Severus's father was sitting at the desk, writing, his large hooked nose hovering over the parchment.

"Please sir, these children said they needed to see a teacher."

The man looked up and it was his turn to gape.

For a minute, the three of them stared at each other in silence.

'Thank you, Warrington," said the man at last. "You may go. I'll take care of them."

Warrington walked out, closing the door behind him.

"Sit down," said the man in an unexpectedly soft voice. "It's Severus, isn't it?"

" Yes, sir," said Severus, sitting down. Then slowly he added, "You're not my father, so you're... What's the date ?"

" Twenty-first of October 1991," said the man. "I am you. I am Severus Snape, Potions Master, Head of Slytherin house."


	2. Chapter 2

Fate

Disclaimer : The characters and basic plot belong to JK Rowling.

Chapter Two

Severus's pale face broke into a large smile.

"You're me ! Lily, I'm Head of Slytherin !"

Lily smiled at him.

Professor Snape looked at Lily. And looked. And looked as if he would never stop.

"Where am I ? Can I meet myself too ?" she asked.

"Not now," said Professor Snape, torn out of his trance. "Children, tell me how you got here... I mean now."

Severus pulled the Time-Turner out of his robe and put it carefully on the desk.

"We found that. We didn't do it on purpose."

" I didn't know what it was," added Lily.

"Of course, you wouldn't," said Professor Snape, gazing at the Time-Turner. Then he looked up at Lily.

"First lesson : never touch an object if you don't know what it is."

She lowered her eyes.

"I'll get you back. You came from 1971, didn't you ?"

The children nodded.

"But first... hum... I never expected such a thing to happen... I know one is not supposed to meddle with time..."

He sighed, got up and began to pace, swishing his black robes around him.

"Severus, I made a mess of my life," he said, suddenly sounding agitated. "Perhaps I could give you... a second chance."

He stopped and looked at Severus.

"I made terrible mistakes," he whispered. "If I could stop you from repeating them..."

" Tell me !" exclaimed Severus eagerly."Tell me what mistakes not to make !"

" Come with me."

Professor Snape walked over to one of the jar-covered shelves and whispered something. A door appeared.

"Come in."

The children followed him inside. They found themselves in a dark corridor. Professor Snape pushed a door on the right.

"Welcome to my apartments.

- You live here ?"

" I do."

They walked into a small drawing room lined with books. There was only one picture on the wall.

"That's your mum !" remarked Lily. "But she looks old."

"She is older than you know her in this picture."

" Is she still alive ?" asked Severus.

"She died a few months ago."

Lily ran to Professor Snape and hugged him. He stood there in shock, then slowly put his arms around her.

"Have bad things happened, Severus ?" she asked softly.

"Very bad things. Listen, Lily, I want to talk to Severus alone .I'll teach him how to correct his mistakes. It will be very hard, though. Come in here."

He pushed a door on the side.

"This is my bedroom. You can stay here while we're talking. What can I give you to do ?"

" Give me a quill and some parchment and I'll draw you a picture. I'll be awfully careful not to get ink on the bed."

" I don't mind if you do," said Professor Snape.

"Good luck, Sev !" said Lily to the younger Severus. " I'll help you if you need help."

Professor Snape shut the door and the two Severusses sat opposite each other at the table in the drawing room. Professor Snape pulled out a parchment.

"I'll write everything down for you."

Severus smiled.

"I bet you're a good teacher."

" Some say so, but not all agree."

This is what Professor Snape wrote :

"1. Do not become friendly with Mulciber and Avery. No matter what they say, they are not your friends. They are using you. You may return Lucius Malfoy's friendship, but do not follow in his path. Also keep away from Wilkes and Rosier.

2. Do not become a Death Eater. Stay away from Death Eaters.

3. No matter how angry you are at Lily, never, ever call her a Mudblood. She would never forgive you."

Severus read the parchment slowly, frowned and looked up.

"What's a Death Eater ?"

" Death Eaters are followers of a certain Dark wizard. Keep this parchment preciously and don't show it to anyone,certainly not to Lily. These instructions will be very hard to follow. You will feel you are driving your only friends away. But remember : your only true friend is Lily. She is the most precious thing you have."

" I know."

Professor Snape looked fondly at his younger self. For years he had hated himself, but here was a boy younger than the young man he had been ashamed of.

"It will be hard, but it will be even harder if you don't follow my instructions. Trust me. You want to be happy and you want Lily to be happy."

"You aren't happy now ? Where is Lily, I mean the older Lily ?"

" I am not happy, Severus. I have made wrong choices, terrible mistakes. Please, please don't make them again."

"You're thirty-one," remarked Severus.

His older self looked old and bitter.

"You aren't friends with Lily any more."

Professor Snape shook his head.

"You must go back now. Please don't forget my instructions. Perhaps I have been given a chance to correct my mistakes."

Severus nodded gravely.

"Hide the parchment. Come, I'll take you back."

Together they went back to the bedroom where Lily was sitting cross-legged on the bed in the middle of a collection of drawings of Hogwarts that she had enchanted to make them mobile and colourful.

"You're brilliant !" said Severus.

"May I keep them ?" asked Professor Snape.

"Of course. I'll make lots more.

-Thank you. We have to say goodbye now."

Professor Snape couldn't remember when he had last hugged someone. He wanted to never let go of the children. But he had to. He carefully placed the Time-Turner around both of them and set it for the 21st of October 1971. Then he let go.

Professor Snape blinked. The children had disappeared. For a second, he thought he might have been dreaming, but Lily's drawings still lay scattered on the bed. Slowly, one by one, he gathered them, looking fondly at each one. Then he hid them away under a pile of parchments in his office.

He had tried. Had anything changed ? Had young Severus found the courage to make better choices this time ?

'


	3. Chapter 3

Fate

Disclaimer : The characters and basic plot belong to JK Rowling.

Chapter Three

Suddenly he knew. It was as if he had just awoken from a dream. Two parallel sets of memories now coexisted in Severus Snape's mind.

The first one was and Lily's friendship had ended when Severus had uttered the unforgivable word : Mudblood. Shortly after, Lily had begun to go out with James Potter until she had finally married him. Severus had become a Death Eater and caused James and Lily's death. Their son Harry had just started at Hogwarts and protecting him despite his negative feelings had become Severus's mission in life.

These memories were now like a bad dream. Severus had suddenly awoken to a different reality. His new set of memories was, at least, guiltless. After his visit to the future, young Severus had stuck to his older self's advice and not become a Death Eater, which had caused him to lose his former friendships, including Lucius Malfoy's. Professor Snape had been right : these people had just been using him.

Severus had resisted the temptation to lash out at Lily on that fateful day, even though he had noticed her lips twitching at his humiliation. He had swallowed his pride and kept quiet. But that had only postponed the inevitable : Lily was pretty and popular. Nothing could stop her from becoming the star Quidditch player's girlfriend, even the fact that her boyfriend repeatedly bullied her childhood friend. Indeed, she had made her choice. Again James and Lily had ended up married and their son Harry, who had started school this year, was one of the worst brats Severus had ever met. His parents, who were still very much alive, spoiled him rotten.

How and why Severus had ended up teaching at Hogwarts, Severus wasn't sure himself. Dumbledore, who used him as shamelessly as Avery and Mulciber had done, had somehow convinced him to join both the Order of the Phoenix and Hogwarts staff.

But being Potions master and Head of Slytherin was not so bad. Severus had come to care about the Slytherin students. Slytherin was his family. And lately Lucius Malfoy had renewed attempts at some sort of friendship, now that his son Draco was one of Severus's students.

It still seemed possible to reconsider his choices.

With a sigh, Severus opened his drawer and flipped through the drawings Lily had left him a few minutes ago, twenty years ago.

He looked from the fireplace to the dustbin and back to the pictures Lily had drawn when she was still his best friend, before she had grown up to become...

"Stupid cow," he muttered, pushing the pictures to the back of the bottom drawer.


End file.
